Vehicle-wheel alignment indicator



Feb 26, 1935 4 WEAVER 1,992,264

VEHICLE WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR.

Filed March 30, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w a WWII! (d HIIIIIIIHIIHIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIHHIIIIIIIIIIIHIIHIIlIlIll[I[Illllllllllllllilllllllll F A. WEAVER 1,992,264

VEHICLE WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR Filed March 50, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Feb. 26, 1935 1,992,264 VEHICLE-WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR IraA. Weaver, Springfield, 111., assignor to Weaver Manufacturing Company,Springfield, Ill., .a

corporation of Illino' Application March 30, 1931, SerialNo. 526,385

1 claim. (01. 33-203) My invention pertains to certain structuralIbetterments, with resulting, functional advan-- "tages, in.appliances'for indicating the alignment of vehicle-wheels, whereby theircondition, as

to in or out toe may be ascertained with facility,

rapidity, and accuracy.

One object of the invention is the provision' of an apparatus of thiskind-which is so con- :structed. that it is capable. of withstanding thef passage over it of the-heaviest type of motor-,

vehicles while their wheels are undergoing test. Another feature of theinvention resides in the improved and novel means for p roducing the.

sidewise motion of the traction-plate with which the vehicle-wheelcontacts, and'a similar 'motion for the rollers of the roller-bearingswhich carry or support such plate. A further characteristic of the newconstruction is the means for securing such cover or traction-plate inplace. a An added purpose of theinvention is to provide a constructionoflthis character in which the pointer or index moves in the direct-ionin which the wheel is out of. line.

Still a supplemental aim of the invention is to supply an appliance ofthis general style in whichthe cover or'traction-plate is locked againstmovement by friction until the vehicle- I {wheel has its weightproperlyximposed on the bearings which support the plate,

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specificationandto which reference should be'had, apresent, preferred embodiment ofthe invention has been illustrated in detail and, for simplicity, likereference numerals have been employed .to designate the same structuralviews;

1 .In these drawings:-

Figure 1 is a plan view of the vehicle-wheel alignment indicator;

Figures 2, 3, and 4 are enlarged cross-sections through the appliance onlines 2-2, 33, and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan-view of the base portion of the structure with thetop or cover-plate removed; and f Figure 6 is a view of the underside ofthe cover or traction-plate.

Referring to theseldrawings, it will be perceived that the apparatusincludes a fiat, metal base-plate 11 adapted to rest on the floor orground and equipped with a carrying-handle 12 along the middle portionof one of its sides by means of which the whole appliance may be readilycarried about, whereby the apparatus may be properly characterized aseasily portable.

Securedto the top face of such base-plate 11 are a plurality ofparallel, transverse, flat track-bars 13, 13, conveniently or desirablyin any other suitable manner.

parts throughout the several fastened or secured in place by rivets 14,14 or In the present instance, four long anti-:friction rollers 15, 1'5bear and roll on such crosstracksl3, 13, andthe two ends of such rollersare maintained properly spaced apart by two end-bars 16, 16 in whichsuch rollers have bearmgs.

A lever :17 is fulcru med at its center on the base-plate 11 on anupstanding stud 18, and a corresponding lever 19 of equal length issimilarlyrockingly mounted midway its length on the'baseplatefl bymeansof a stud 20.

'One end of lever 19 is longitudinally slotted at 21 to rockinglyreceive an adjacent, rounded end 22 of the other lever 17, the part 22snugly or accurately fitting in the slot, whereby when one lever isrockedlo'r turned on its fulcrum, the associated or companion lever willrock in like manner and in equal degree.

A metal plate 23, positioned crosswise the structure, bears on the uppersurfaceof the baseplate and is adapted toslide thereon; its central part24 being elevated to extend over the lever 19 to which it is pivoted atits middle at Y25, and the other or lower portionsof thebar 23 havepairs of upstanding lugs 26, 26 on opposite sides of and incontact withthe four bearing-rollers 15, Y

Thus,as lever 19 rocks, theset or group of rollers is correspondinglyshifted laterally of the appliance by reason of the mechanicalconnection '23 -between the lever and the rollers.

In like orsimilar manner, lever' 17 has a connection 23 with theother-end portions of the rollers. 7

Metal loops 2'7 fastened to the base-plate and through which the twolevers extend, as isclearly shown, constitute stops for limiting orrestricting the extent of rocking or swinging movement of the twolevers.

Near one end of the base-plate 11, a bracket 28 is secured by screws orrivets29, and, inasmuch as the lower edge portion of the adjacent bar 16slides crosswise the apparatus between the edge 'of theneighboringtrack-plate 13 and the bracket 28, the rollers and their cageconstruction 'canoperates with a sca1e'33 on a plate 34 secured to thebase-plate; beyond the end of the cover-plate described below, suchscale being desirably graduated in feet per mile.

'- From an understanding of the construction so far as now described, itwill be obvious that the pointer will move over the scale an amountproportional to the extent of the lateraltravel of the rollers and theirassociated cage construction, and'in a direction opposite to themovement of such rollers. V

The companion traction or cover plate 35, which has a downturned flangearound its margin, has cross track bars or plates 36, 36 fastened to itsunderside, and these bear or rest on the tops of the several rollers 15directly above the lower track-bars 13, so that theweight iniposed onsuch top plate by the vehicle-wheel undergoing test is transmitteddirectly to such track bars and the intervening rollers of theanti-friction construction, whereby the cover-plate can readily shiftsidewise if the wheel is out of line.

Cover-plate 35' has two depending, threaded studs 37, 37, one of whichoccupies-slot 3G and the other of which is in a similar slot 38 in theouter end of lever 19, whereby any sidewise move- 'mentof such plate istransmitted through the studs 37 to the two connected levers, and thesein turn-shift the rollers and. theircage sidewise an amount one-half ofthe cross travel of the plate, the connections 25 of the members 23being'located halfway between the outer ends of the levers andtheirfulcrums Thusa proper and positive movement is im-' parted to therollers through their cage construc tion assuring that all positions ofeach roller are parallel to one another, and the extent of suchtransverse travel of the cover-plate will be indicated by the pointer onthe scale, the indexendof the pointer traveling over the scale in adirection opposite to that of the movement of the tractionsplate. 1 7

Owing to the specifiedconnections of the cover- 7 "plate with the twolevers and the rocking union of the adjacent ends of the levers with oneanother, the structure represents a mechanism 'which requiresthe'cover-pla-te' to move bodily and equally throughout its length andwith all of its positions parallel to one another,- thus assuring thatthe action of the pointer will be'correct under all circumstances. r Inorder to hold or keep the cover or top plate appropriately in place onthe device, the baseplate is equipped with a pair of brackets 39, 39near the middle of the length of the apparatus, and the top platehas acorrelated or companion pair of oppositely-facing brackets 41, 41secured to its under surface. 7

When the coverplate is in place, portions of its brackets underlie orinterlock with parts of the base-plate brackets and thus preventimproper displacement of the movable, upper plate or its separation fromthe tester as a whole. As isindicated in Figures 1 and 6, the front endof the top plateslopes or inclines down at 42 to facilitate therunningof the wheel up onto the main portion of the plate, and, while the wheelis rollingup such incline, the plate flexes or bends downwardlysuificiently to allow the edge of its dependingflange to bear on thebase-plate, thus precluding side movement of the plate until the wheelis in proper and suitable position thereon.

rection or the other an amount corresponding to the degree of in-toe orout-toe of'the wheel.

Such lateral movement of the plate is facili.

.- the plate and of the rollers and their cage construction ismaintained in perfect parallelism,

.thus assuring that both ends of the plate will move in equal degrees.

The index'end of the pointer or hand 32 will swing in the oppositedirection an amount proportional to the travel of the plate, which, of

course, is in due degree to the angularity of the wheel, whereby thescale reading indicated by the pointer will show the extent of in orouttoe of the wheel, and suchreading will specify whether or not suchdeviation from the exact, straight-ahead position is proper orexcessive.

It will be noted that the .wheel in traveling over the full, or anycertain portion of the,

7 length of the tester covers a definite and predetermined distance, andin so doing it will force the top plate laterally or sidewise an amountcorresponding to its degree of in or out toe.

Accordingly, such scale may conveniently be graduated in feet per mileor in any 'other'desired way. I

The wheel having been driven oif of the plate, the reading of thepointer on thescale may be ascertained, whereupon the platemay then bereplaced to its central or neutral position ready for further service. 1

, As is indicated in the'drawings, the upper surface of the top platewith which the wheel coacts .;is desirably made rough,- preferably byslight, longitudinal elevations, so that there is no tendency for thewheel to slip sidewise on the plate while a is pushed laterally. i

It will be understood that since the rollers extend substantially thefull length of the movable plate, theysupport the latter in ananti-friction manner in aparticularly effective way, so that theapparatus, even though very thin in structure, can support the heaviesttype of vehicles without danger of injury to itself.

Those acquainted with this art will readily understand thatthe'invention as presented in the appended claim is not 'iindispensablyor essentially 'confined to the strict struotural'details presented inthe drawings and referred to in the specification, and that manyjchangesor modifications may be incorporated in the construction Withoutdeviation from the fundamentals of the invention and withou-t theforfeiture of any of its important structural or functional superiorcharacteristics.

Iclaim: r In a vehicle-wheel alignment indicator, the

hicle-wheel to be tested is adapted to roll, and

antifriction bearing means between said plates 1 and on which said topplate is designed to travel sidewise, said top plate having an inclinedend up which the vehicle-wheel is adapted to roll, said end beingflexible to frictio'nally contact with said base-plate when said endflexes as a wheel rolls up such inclined end, the friction preventingsidewise travel of the top plate until the wheel is properly located onthe plate.

IRA A. WEAVER.

combination of a base-plate, an elongated top 560 plate over saidbase-plate and on which the ve-

